When pumping downhole fluids with an electric submersible pump, a variety of hydraulic forces act on various components. For example, impellers in centrifugal, submersible pumps tend to create large reaction forces that act in a direction opposite to the direction of fluid flow. The large reaction forces are resisted by, for example, a thrust washer in each stage of a floater style pump or by a motor protector thrust bearing in a compression style pump.
The thrust created by the impeller in each stage of a submersible pump can be problematic in a variety of submersible pump types, including pumps with mixed flow stages and pumps with radial flow stages. In some floater style designs, for example, a significant portion of power loss in the pump is due to thrust friction occurring at the outer thrust washer due to relatively high friction induced torque at this radially outlying position. If the outer thrust washer is removed from the floater style stage, however, the lack of any seal functionality increases leakage loss.